Garment hanger

ABSTRACT

A garment hanger construction including a pair of jaws for holding a garment. At least one of the jaws is mounted on a pivoting arm, and a latch is employed for holding the pivoting arm in closed position relative to the other arm. The arm is formed of a resilient material such as spring metal, and the latch mechanism includes a plurality of latching positions so that the jaw mounted on the pivoting arm can be pressed against a garment and so that resilient pressure can be applied to the garment until the hanger is unlatched. The unlatching operation is accomplished through manually engageable means for providing a convenient hanger structure.

United States Patent 1191 Dohrin Jul 16, 1974 GARMENT HANGER Primary Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [76] Inventor' 2 Dohnng Gordon Nebr' Attorney, Agent, or Firm--McDougall, Hersh & Scott 22 Filed: Jan. 31, 1973 I 21 Appl. N6; 328,419 [57] ABSTRACT I 10 L 16\w A garment hanger construction including a pair of jaws for holding a garment. At least one of the jaws is mounted on a pivoting arm, and a latch is employed for holding the pivoting arm in closed position relative to the other arm. The arm is formed of a resilient material such as spring metal, and the latch mechanism includes a plurality of latching positions so that the jaw mounted on the pivoting arm can be pressed against a garment and so that resilient pressure can be applied to the garment until the hanger is unlatched. The unlatching operation is accomplished through manually engageable means for providing a convenient hanger structure.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUL 1 8 I974 FIG, 2

FIGOZ 1 GARMENT HANGER This invention relates to an improved garment hanger construction. The invention is particularly concerned with a garment hanger of the type including relatively movable jaws for suspending a garment from between the jaws.

Various garment hanger arrangements have been developed for purposes of suspending a garment to maintain the garment wrinkle-free or to cause wrinkles to fall out. In the case of mens trousers, for-example, garment hangers such as described in Podell US. Pat. No. 2,842,299 have been utilized. These hangers provide relatively movable jaws which can be opened for inserting the end of the trousers, and then close whereby the trousers will hang free. Arrangements of this general type are considered superior to the standard hanger wherein the trousers or other garments are folded over to the extent that a wrinkle-free condition cannot be achieved.

Prior hanger designs of the so-called wrinkle-free type have not been totally satisfactory. --In many instances, the hangers are not sufficiently versatile to accommodate different types or sizes of garments. In other instances, the structures employed have been unduly complicated so that the garment hangers are too expensive for use on a large scale.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved garment hanger construction wherein trousers, slacks, shorts and other items can be hung in a highly efficient manner for purposes of avoiding wrinkles or eliminating wrinkles.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved garment hanger construction which includes means for resiliently holding items of clothing in an adjustable and highly reliable fashion whereby the clothing can be properly hung.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hanger construction of the type described which can be efficiently and economically manufactured and which is very easy to use so that the hanger construction can be employed on a large scale.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and for purposes of illustration,,but not of limitation, specific embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hanger construction characterized by the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a garment hanger construction;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the hanger construction taken about the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3a illustrates a modified form of jaw structure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical, sectional view taken about the line 55 of FIG. 3;- and, I

FIG. 6 is a horizontal, sectional view taken about the line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

The construction of this invention comprises a gar.- ment hanger of the type including a pair of jaws defining opposed garment engaging surfaces. The jaws are mounted on arms or other supports with at least one arm being pivotable between open and closed positions. The pivoting arm is formed of a resilient material so that the jaw supported by the arm can be resiliently pressed against a garment positioned between jaws. Theinvention includes a latch means which serves to maintain the jaw in this position until the latch is independently released.

The supporting arm for the jawspreferably includes a pawl attached to its end, and a bracket is provided for carrying a ratchet arrangement. The ratchet defines a plurality of teeth so that the pawl can be latched in different positions. Accordingly, a garment can be located between the jaws and the movable jaw brought into engagement with the garment with resilient force being applied by the jaw arm. The latch construction includes manually operable means for releasing the latch so that the structure can be utilized with a minimum of effort.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a garment hanger 10 having a suspending hook 12 which is attached to the top wall 14 of bracket 16. The hook defines an'enlarged lower end portion 18 which is attached to the bracket to maintain thehook in the position shown. The bracket'defines a side wall 20 which supports an arm 22. A rivet 24 holds the upper end of this arm in position on the bracket wall.

The arm 22 defines a bent-in end portion 26 which provides a seatreceiving a garment engaging, divided jaw 28. A rivet 30 serves to secure this jaw to the arm,

and it will be noted that a single rivet is employed. The upper edge of the jaw bears against the laterally extending portion 32 of the arm which prevents any swinging movement of the arm whereby the single rivet fastening is satisfactory. The separation of the jaw 28 allows for the seams of trousers where the hanger is used for that purpose. Felt, foam rubber, rubber or other friction material may cover the engaging jaw faces.

A second jaw 34 is connected by means of rivet 36 to the bent-in seat portion 38 of a second arm 40. The arm 40 isconnected by means of rivets 42 to an extension44 defined by a pawl 46. The pawl 46 is pivotally mounted on shaft 48 which is suspended between the walls SOand 52 of the bracket 16. The shaft carries a spacer 54, and the heads 56 on the shaft are enlarged to maintain the spacer and pawl in proper position while insuring the pivotal movement of the pawl.

The pawl 46 comprises a bifurcated member defining a pair of engaging pawl ends 58 which cooperate with teeth 60 formed on the side walls of ratchet 62 to provide a latch for the system. The ratchet, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, comprises a bifurcated member supported on a shaft 64. In the manner of the support for the pawl, the shaft carries a spacer cylinder 66 and is provided with enlarged ends 68 for holding the ratchet in position while permitting the pivoting movement. The ratchet defines, an outwardly extending tab 70 which is received withina slot 72 defined in the side wall 20 of the bracket. A-bottom tab 73 permits one to apply forcein a vertical direction with two fingers of one hand. As best indicated in FIG. 3, this arrangement permits pivoting movement of the ratchet to the dotted line position shown.

The arm 40 which supports the jaw 34 is formed of spring steel or a similar resilient-material. This enables the arm to bow inwardly as shown in FIG. 1 whereby the jaw will exert resilient pressure on a garment which is positioned between the jaw 34 and the jaw 28. With the arrangement of the invention, the described latching mechanism provides a highly efficient means for 3 l maintaining this resilient pressure during use of the hanger whereby the garment will be securely held. The arm 22 is preferably formed of the same material so that a bowing of this arm may also develop. In any case,

there is present a degree of spring force which is exerted on the garment, this force being substantially over and above the force which could be achieved without the combination of the latchingmechanism and spring arms.

In FIG. 3a, the end portions 26 and 38 are bent inwardly which provides a better grip, this structure being particularly suitable for heavier garments, for example, heavy trousers with cuffs.

The function of the structure can be demonstrated by considering the placement of a garment 74 over the surface of the jaw 28 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The jaw 34 can then be swung against the garment which will, of course, drive the pawl 58 over the teeth 60. This action is achieved primarily through use of a spring 76 which is connected at one end in the opening 78 defined by the ratchet, and at the other end in the opening 80 defined by the pawl extension 44. Thus, the spring acts to hold the pawl end 58 and the teeth 60 in close engagement so that return movement of the pawl end is not normally possible.

When the jaw 34 has moved into engagement with the garment 74, the arms40 and 22 will be essentially straight. The arms40 can, however, then be pressed with the fingers (at. about the point indicated by the dotted line of numeral 40) whichwill bow the arm 40 against the arm 22, and pivot the pawl 46 further in a counterclockwise direction. This action will drive the pawl ends 58 to the left in the drawing to at least one additional tooth position. Since the ratchet prevents return movement of the pawl, the arm 40 will remain in this bowed state whereby a strong pressure is applied to the garment being held.

The structure illustrated provides a very efficient means for releasing a garment. Specifically, the tab 70 can be pushed downwardly which raises the ratchetso that the action of spring 76 will drive the pawl and associated arm to the open position. This operation is, of course, automatic and can be accomplished with one hand so that the other hand can be used for holding onto the garment. Similarly, when hanging a garment, one hand can be used for holding the garment against the jaw 28 while the other hand presses the arms 22 and 40 together until the desired latched position is reached.

In addition to the simplified operation wherein one hand is employed for quickly and easily'hanging a gar- .ment and releasing a garment, the structure of the invention is of a relatively basic design so that the structure can be economically manufactured. All of the parts are inexpensive and no complex assembly operations are required. In this connection, the lower arm design greatly simplifies the attachment of the jaws since the jaws are automatically positioned and only a single fastener is required. This arrangement in addition automatically provides a wider opening for locating the garment between the jaws since, with the use of straight arms, the jaws would protrude inwardly relative to the inner surfaces of the arms.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above described construction which provide the characteristics of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, particularly as defined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

l. A garment hanger construction comprising a pair of jaws defining opposed garment engaging surfaces, supporting arms for said jaws, a bracket and-means attaching said arms to said bracket, at least one of said arms being pivotally attached whereby said jaws are movable between open and closed positions, and latch means for releasibly engaging said pivotally attached arm, said latch comprising a pawl secured at the end of said pivotally attached arm for movementtherewith, the other arm being secured to a side wall of said bracket, and including a ratchet mounted on said bracket, said ratchet defining a plurality of teeth for engagement with said pawl whereby said 'pawl can be' latched in different positions, said arms being resilient whereby engagement of said pivotally attached arm with said latch means holds said jaws in a first closed position and whereby the application of pressure to said pivotally attached arm moves said pawl further relative to said teeth whereby the arms resiliently press said jaws together.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said jaws comprise laterally extending elongated members attached at the ends of said arms opposite said bracket.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein said arms comprise metallic strips, the ends of the arms opposite said bracket being bent inwardly to define a seat for said jaws whereby said strips are positioned in close proximity when the jaws are in the closed position.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including means pivotally connecting said ratchet to said bracket, and a manually engageable operating extension for said bracket for pivoting the bracket and for releasing the pawl to relieve the pressure. 

1. A garment hanger construction comprising a pair of jaws defining opposed garment engaging surfaces, supporting arms for said jaws, a bracket and means attaching said arms to said bracket, at least one of said arms being pivotally attached whereby said jaws are movable between open and closed positions, and latch means for releasibly engaging said pivotally attached arm, said latch comprising a pawl secured at the end of said pivotally attached arm for movement therewith, the other arm being secured to a side wall of said bracket, and including a ratchet mounted on said bracket, said ratchet defining a plurality of teeth for engagement with said pawl whereby said pawl can be Latched in different positions, said arms being resilient whereby engagement of said pivotally attached arm with said latch means holds said jaws in a first closed position and whereby the application of pressure to said pivotally attached arm moves said pawl further relative to said teeth whereby the arms resiliently press said jaws together.
 2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said jaws comprise laterally extending elongated members attached at the ends of said arms opposite said bracket.
 3. A construction in accordance with claim 2 wherein said arms comprise metallic strips, the ends of the arms opposite said bracket being bent inwardly to define a seat for said jaws whereby said strips are positioned in close proximity when the jaws are in the closed position.
 4. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including means pivotally connecting said ratchet to said bracket, and a manually engageable operating extension for said bracket for pivoting the bracket and for releasing the pawl to relieve the pressure. 